In Hunan Province, on the evening of September 1st, a large number of mayflies appeared on the surface of Yuanshui Bridge in Hanshou County, Changde City, causing vehicles to skid. Local residents described it as “all bugs, like snowfall” on social media. This news quickly became a hot search on Baidu on September 3rd.
On the evening of September 1st, videos posted by netizens on social media showed a large number of mayflies on the surface of Yuanshui Bridge in Hanshou County, Changde City, causing vehicles to slide. Local residents who witnessed the scene described the situation as the bugs being “like snowfall.” This information was confirmed by the Agricultural and Rural Bureau of Hanshou County.
According to a report from Red Star News on September 2nd, the Agricultural and Rural Bureau of Hanshou County confirmed that on the evening of the 1st around 8 pm, mayflies appeared on Yuanshui Bridge, with a stretch of several hundred meters long and an estimated number of at least 1 billion. The large quantity of mayflies covering the bridge surface caused slippery roads and traffic congestion. By the early morning of the 2nd, the mayflies had been cleared, and traffic on the bridge had returned to normal.
On the afternoon of September 2nd, experts from the Plant Protection and Inspection Station in Hanshou County explained that the appearance of mayflies on the evening of the 1st was due to the phenomenon of “nuptial flight.” The recent high temperatures prompted a large number of nymphs to molt into adults. After molting, they need to mate and lay eggs, and they are naturally attracted to light, with around 8 pm being the peak time for them seeking light sources.
However, some netizens were dissatisfied with the expert’s explanation, questioning why the mayflies only appeared on the bridge surface when there were also lights and water in other places where no mayflies were seen.
Some netizens believed this may not be a good omen.
A Baidu user with the username 613d70e003 said: “Not a good sign, something big might happen, everyone should be cautious.”
Another user expressed: “Hopefully, it’s not a precursor to a natural disaster.”
A netizen named “Justice1Ujst” shared a personal experience, saying, “On the morning of the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, when I was returning from Xiangyang City, Xiangcheng District to Zaoyang, I clearly remember seeing small white mosquito-like bugs flying everywhere in the air, and in the afternoon, the Wenchuan earthquake occurred.”
Public records show that mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are a general term for the order of insects of the mayfly family. Up to 2002, China has recorded a total of 17 families, 60 genera, and 220 species of mayflies.
Mayfly eggs are small, with various colors, patterns, and attachments on the surface. The nymphs are 3-28 millimeters long, and after molting, they become subadults with dull body colors, opaque wings that are smoky in color, and bristle-like antennae for adults.